The invention of the present application relates to navigational, information storage/retrieval, and display systems and, in particular, to the determination by an individual of his or her location relative to a surrounding region and positioning of such location on a visual map.
In todays world, it is becoming increasingly important to know ones position relative to the earth with relative precision. For example, the soldier needs to know where he or she is and where the enemy is, the delivery person trying to find a customer in a unfamiliar region needs to know his or her location relative to the point of delivery, travelers need to know their location, ships at sea need to be precisely located, etc. Todays technology is providing the means to pinpoint ones location on earth with some degree of accuracy. For example, the U.S. government's satellite Navstar system (when complete) will allow quite precise positioning of ships carrying the means to use such a system. Likewise, the aviation Loran-C guidance system is utilized to provide aircraft with a reasonably accurate positioning of the aircraft relative to the earth beneath it.
However, guidance, positioning or mapping systems for individuals (and also usually for land vehicles) have been rather unsophisticated, relying on methods that measure distance and direction to determine position. In such methods, errors become magnified.
In addition, it is desirable to have a mapping system that can display to a user his or her position relative to surrounding terrain or city environment, that preferably will provide the user with a stereoscopic view of the surrounding terrain relative to the viewer's position and that may be carried in a self-contained unit by an individual, preferably in a head mountable helmet.